Charlize Theron Would Love to Play Furiosa Again in a ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ Sequel

Before you carelessly toss this news in the “obviously” pile, please remember all the reports of tension between Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy on the set of Mad Max: Fury Road — and all the interviews after the film hit theaters, where it seemed like Theron wasn’t particularly eager to work on a sequel with George Miller. And while Hardy has signed on for at least two Mad Max sequels, Theron has not, which definitely makes her enthusiastic response to the prospect of playing Furiosa again pretty exciting.

While speaking with MTV, Theron was asked if she’d be down to reprise the role of Furiosa for a sequel to Fury Road, and she seemed really pumped about the idea:

I would love to bring her back to life, are you kidding?… To have people react to something like that where you went and worked your balls off (laughs), it’s really, really nice, it kind of just puts everything into perspective. I can see how people are responding to her and I look at my little girl and I’m like, ‘Yeah I’d love to play this woman again, definitely.’

Theron’s fierce, nuanced portrayal of the renegade Imperator Furiosa basically stole Fury Road right out from under Hardy’s stoic Max, much to the delight of the film’s fan base. Director George Miller has said repeatedly that he has a couple more Mad Max stories written (including one about Furiosa), but he was recently inspired by indie hit Tangerine to make his next project a much smaller film that doesn’t rely heavily on VFX.

There have also been rumors that Warner Bros. wants Miller to produce Zack Snyder’s Justice League, which kind of makes you wonder if the studio is setting up a deal with Miller — he helps creatively steer Snyder’s Justice League and gets a Mad Max sequel or two in return.

Whatever the case may be, Theron is happy to return to play Furiosa if and when George Miller is ready. Says Theron:

I haven’t seen George since the Oscars. I think all of this has been really overwhelming for him, and he likes to take his time and he’s very concise. I think if he’s ready, he’ll be ready, and hopefully he’ll call.

Until then, you can see Theron reprise her role as the totally bonkers and badass Queen Ravenna in The Huntsman: Winter’s War, which hits theaters on April 22.